Page 18 of Stepbrother With Benefits

F I F T Y F I V E

- Madeline -

Kiki's shotgun wedding rolled around pretty quick, and thanks to her father's obscene wealth, the whole thing was elaborately hosted in Lake Forest as if they'd had years to plan it.

Unfortunately, despite the bride's sobriety, the wedding party was a shitshow on the day. One of the bridesmaids spilled pink champagne on her lavender dress before the ceremony, and the best man ripped the ass of his suit practicing the dance moves he planned to reveal later. On the plus side, the photographer was a real pro, and she saved the day by rearranging our bouquets and the flowers at the front of the small chapel before any of the guests got wind of the chaos.

Personally, I was far too preoccupied with how handsome my date looked to worry over any of those hiccups. Quinn was in a petrol blue suit that made his eyes pop against his crisp white shirt, and they never strayed from me as I stood on the steps beside the altar, trying not to blush from his attention.

It was a tough challenge, though, and I admit my mind was playing all kinds of tricks on me during the ceremony. I imagined what it would be like for him to rise slowly from his pew and walk up the aisle, what it would feel like if everyone was looking at us the way they were looking at Kiki and Steve. I even wondered how it would feel to hear him say "I do" after I spent so many years resenting the fact that he never said more than two words to me.

It was too soon to wonder those things, of course. We were young, and our relationship still felt so new and exciting that the last thing I wanted to do was complicate it. That said, I knew if he ever reverted to his old speech patterns, dropped to his knee, and said “marry me," I would say yes.

The whole notion was crazy. It had only been eight months. Still, if my intuition was anything to go by, I was going to marry him someday. Not because marriage was my ultimate goal or because I had the faintest idea what it was all about, but because he was the only person I could imagine figuring it out with, the only person I could imagine wanting in my corner forever and ever.

Yes, he was a catch by anyone's standards. Yet, every day, he made me feel like I was the prize he'd reeled in. Like he'd never throw me back, even for all the fish in the sea. My chest expanded at the thought, and I stole a glance at him, catching him beaming at me like I was the only woman in the church.

I kept my focus on the happy couple after that, but I got nervous right before the vows. They were usually too sappy for me, too unrelatable. At the last wedding I attended, I’d wondered if they would sound better in another language. But this time was different. This time, the romantic things Kiki and Steve said to each other not only inspired me, but they resonated with me on a deep level.

I guess that’s because I, too, finally had a relationship I would do anything to protect, a person I would do anything to protect. And that knowledge made me feel stronger, more beautiful, and more capable than ever before.

Later that night, he pulled me close on the dance floor to whisper in my ear, and my body erupted in goosebumps at the low timber of his voice. "I'm not sure you're cut out for this bridesmaid stuff."

"What?" I leaned back to look at him.

"Don't look so surprised," he said, his hand poised on my lower back as he led me around the parquet flooring. "You broke the number one rule of being a bridesmaid."

What the hell did he know about being a bridesmaid? "Which is—?"

"Never outshine the bride."

My eyes scowled at him, but my smile betrayed me. "Wise guy."

"I certainly felt like one today," he said, shamelessly checking me out. "Apart from the moment I realized Steve was the guy you were with that night at the sports bar."

My insides winced.

"The guy you let me think you were on a date with."

"The conclusions you may or may not have jumped to have nothing to do with me," I said, my chest rising and falling beneath the lavender bodice of my princess-cut dress.

He smirked. "You knew what you were doing."

"Don't you think it's good one of us did?"

"I should've known," he said. "The guy's got nothing on me."

"Shhh," I said, glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"I forgive you, anyway."

"I didn't ask for forgiveness," I said. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"You tormented a tortured man."

I scoffed. "You tormented yourself."

"Can't argue with that."

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